Strategy until Waikiki
Day: 37, Odometer: 1196M
Position: N26 16’ W136 06’
Distance from start: 1096M
Nearest land: Pt Arguello, 941M due 054T
Waikiki Yacht Club by my course: 1241M due WSW
Solo career total: 881 days
Overall career total: 965 days
There was a shallow 8.2 earthquake off Alaska today and a tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific. The waves that such an event would produce are more of a concern for coastal communities; they are indistinguishable from others out here, so far away and with a water depth of over 5,000 meters. I will be fine.
A short lived weak low pressure system formed east of me last week, creating a huge wind hole while still dissipating. At the same time, a high pressure system extending SW-NE was sitting NW of me. I have been riding an alley of favorable winds in between these areas for a week. It helps to be in the right place!
As a reminder, you can always view my route on our tracking page. Additionally, you can view my track with associated winds via the Ocean Rowing Society’s tracker..
That low also created northerly winds for me, requiring long hours again on the oars to avoid dropping further south. Northerly squalls would come through hourly kicking up the winds by 5-10 knots depressing my course 10-15 degrees south each time. Jason Christensen, my winds expert, wrote that this low was pulling cold air from the Gulf of Alaska near Queen Charlotte Sound over fairly warm water around me (by now 71F-22C). I was still fighting to get farther west yesterday to break free of the continent’s effects on the winds this far out, but I think I am finally there.
It is easy for me to turn southwest: just gybe my rowboat to receive the wind from my port side rear quarter, immediately affecting a course change of 30-40 degrees. I have received the winds from my starboard rear quarter ever since Crescent City. That pattern will continue all the way across to mainland Asia.
The struggle has been to try advancing west despite the northerly winds of this unique summer pushing me further south. Already the cumulative effect of the earlier persistently NW then later NNW, N and recently NNE winds is that I am not as far west as I could have been at this latitude.
Consequently, I now have a bigger challenge ahead; my course requires a very gradual WSW descent toward my goal. To remain in control so that I clear the west end of Molokai island, I need to advance my rowboat on average 9M west for every 2M of southing. I have limited control over where the seas want to take me. Any course correction must begin this far in advance considering the mighty powers of The Ocean.
I cannot be exact; I must build a margin of safety just in case a last minute storm named Murphy catches me closer to Hawaii then while on para-anchor for a few days, pulls me south. That close to Kaiwi Channel, my gateway to Oahu, I may not be able to correct course again in time. So I should plan on a glide ratio of 5:1 then row even farther west whenever I can to improve that ratio in my favor.
In the meantime, our onshore team has been monitoring long range forecasts for potential hurricane activity. I feel comfortable with the assessments that will be made by Jason and recently retired NOAA Commander Mark Miller. We can consider all options and are ready. Those forecasts often change though, given so many variables…
Erden.